• 음성과학
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• 제7권2호
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• pp.37-50
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• 2000

This paper describes a test of everyday speech understanding ability, in which a listener's utilization of the context-situational information of speech is assessed, and is compared with the utilization of acoustic-phonetic information. The test items are sentences which are presented in a babble type of noise, and the listener response is the key word in the sentence. The key words are always two-syllabic nouns and the questioning sentences are added to obtain the responding key words. Two types of sentences are used. One is the high-predictable sentences for which the key word is somewhat predictable from the context. The other is the low-predictable sentences for which the key-word cannot be predicted from the context. Both types are included in six 40-item forms of the test, which are balanced for intelligibility, key-word familiarity and predictability, phonetic content, and length. Performance of normally hearing listeners shows significantly different functions for various signal-to-noise ratios. The potential applications of this test, particularly in the assessment of speech understanding ability in the hearing impaired, are discussed.

• 말소리와 음성과학
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• 제12권3호
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• pp.95-103
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• 2020

본 연구의 목적은 경직형 뇌성마비 아동의 하위그룹별로 말속도와 쉼에서 차이가 있는지 살펴보고, 말명료도와의 관련성에 대해서 알아보고자 하였다. 연구대상은 경직형 뇌성마비 아동 26명이 참여하였다. 말문제와 언어문제가 없는 NSMI-LCT 4명, 말문제는 없지만 언어문제가 있는 NSMI-LCI 그룹 6명, 말문제가 있지만 언어문제는 없는 SMI-LCT 6명, 말과 언어문제를 모두 동반하는 SMI-LCI 그룹 10명이 참여하였다. 연구과제는 문장 따라말하기였고, Praat을 통해 말속도, 조음속도, 쉼 시간의 비율, 평균 쉼 횟수, 평균 쉼 시간을 측정하였다. 연구결과, 첫째, 말속도와 조음속도는 언어문제의 유무와 관계없이 NSMI와 SMI 그룹 간에 유의한 차이가 나타났다. 둘째, NSMI에 비해 SMI 그룹에서에서 쉼 시간의 비율은 더 높고, 쉼 횟수는 더 빈번하였으며 쉼 시간은 더 길게 나타났다. 셋째, 말속도와 조음속도는 말명료도와 유의한 상관을 나타내었다. 본 연구의 결과는 느린 말속도가 SMI 그룹의 말산출 과정에서 나타나는 주요한 특성이고, 말명료도에 있어서 조음속도와 말속도가 중요한 역할을 함을 시사한다.

• 말소리와 음성과학
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• 제2권4호
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• pp.193-212
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• 2010

The purpose of our study was to provide effective speech evaluation items examining the variables of speech that successfully predict the speech intelligibility in CP children. The subjects were 55 children with spastic type cerebral palsy. As for the speech evaluation, we performed a speech subsystem evaluation and a speech intelligibility test. The results of the study are as follows. The evaluation task for the speech subsystems consisted of 48 task items within an observational evaluation stage and three levels of severity. The levels showed correlations with gross motor functions, fine motor functions, and age. Second, the evaluation items for the speech subsystems were rearranged into seven factors. Third, 34 out of 48 task items that positively correlated with the syllable intelligibility rating were as follows. There were four items in the observational evaluation stage. Among the nonverbal articulatory function evaluation items, there were 11 items in level one. There were 12 items in level two. In level three there were eight items. Fourth, there were 23 items among the 48 evaluation tasks that correlated with the sentence intelligibility rating. There was one item in the observational evaluation stage which was in the articulatory structure evaluation task. In level one there were six items. In level two, there were eight items. In level three, there was a total number of eight items. Fifth, there was a total number of 14 items that influenced the syllable intelligibility rating. Sixth, there was a total number of 13 items that influenced the syllable intelligibility rating. According to the results above, the variables that influenced the speech intelligibility of CP children among the articulatory function tasks were in the respiratory function task, phonatory function task, and lip and chin related tasks. We did not find any correlation for the tongue function. The results of our study could be applied to speech evaluation, setting therapy goals, and evaluating the degree of progression in children with CP. We only studied children with the spastic type of cerebral palsy, and there were a small number of severe degree CP children compared to those with a moderate degree of CP. Therefore, when evaluating children with other degrees of severity, we may have to take their characteristics more into account. Further study on speech evaluation variables in relation to the severity of the speech intelligibility and different types of cerebral palsy may be necessary.

• 정보처리학회논문지B
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• 제13B권1호
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• pp.71-76
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• 2006

기계번역에서 올바른 번역 문장을 구성하기 위해서는 원시 문장의 의미를 올바르게 표현하면서 자연스러운 목적 문장을 구성하는 번역어를 선택해야 한다. 본 논문에서는 '단어-의미 의미-단어' 관계, 즉 원시언어의 한 단어는 하나 이상의 의미를 가지고 각 의미는 각기 다른 목적언어 단어로 표현된다는 점에 기반하여, 원시 단어의 의미 분별과 목적 단어 선택을 결합하여 번역어를 선택하는 방식을 제안한다. 기존의 번역방식은 원시 단어에 대한 목적단어를 직접 선택하는 '단어-단어' 관계에 기반하고 있기 때문에, 원시언어를 목적 언어로 직접 대응시키기 위한 지식을 필요로 하여 지식 획득에 어려움이 있었다. 본 논문의 방식에서는 원시 단어의 의미 분별과 목적 언어의 단어 선택의 결합을 통해 번역어를 선택함으로써, 손쉽게 획득할 수 있는 원시 언어와 목적 언어 각각의 지식원에서 번역어 선택을 위한 지식을 자동으로 추출할 수 있다. 또한 원시 언어의 의미와 목적 언어의 쓰임새를 모두 반영하여 충실도와 이해도를 모두 만족시키는 보다 정확한 번역어를 선택할 수 있다.

• 대한청각학회지
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• 제23권4호
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• pp.187-192
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• 2019

Background and Objectives: Clear speech is an effective communication strategy used in difficult listening situations that draws on techniques such as accurate articulation, a slow speech rate, and the inclusion of pauses. Although too slow speech and improperly amplified spectral information can deteriorate overall speech intelligibility, certain amplitude of increments of the mid-frequency bands (1 to 3 dB) and around 50% slower speech rates of clear speech, when compared to those in conversational speech, were reported as factors that can improve speech intelligibility positively. The purpose of this study was to identify whether amplitude increments of mid-frequency areas and slower speech rates were evident in Korean clear speech as they were in English clear speech. Subjects and Methods: To compare the acoustic characteristics of the two methods of speech production, the voices of 60 participants were recorded during conversational speech and then again during clear speech using a standardized sentence material. Results: The speech rate and longterm average speech spectrum (LTASS) were analyzed and compared. Speech rates for clear speech were slower than those for conversational speech. Increased amplitudes in the mid-frequency bands were evident for the LTASS of clear speech. Conclusions:The observed differences in the acoustic characteristics between the two types of speech production suggest that Korean clear speech can be an effective communication strategy to improve speech intelligibility.

• 말소리와 음성과학
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.79-90
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• 2021

본 연구에서는 단일대상연구로서 speech cues를 이용한 반복훈련이 뇌성마비 아동의 자음정확도 및 말명료도에 미치는 영향에 대해 알아보고자 하였다. 연구에는 만 5-8세의 뇌성마비 아동 3명이 참여하였다. 중재는 한 달간 주 4회, 총 16회기 동안 진행하였으며, 한 회기는 30분으로 구성하였다. 훈련과제는 목표 음소가 포함된 1-2음절의 단어와 2어절의 문장을 speech cues의 두 가지 발화유형인 'Big mouth'와 'Strong voice'로 훈련하였다. 연구 결과, 첫째, 세 아동 모두 자음정확도와 말명료도의 평균이 중재단계에서 증가하였으나, 효과크기는 아동 간 상이하였다. 또한, 자음정확도에 비해 말명료도에서 더 높은 효과가 나타났다. 세 아동 모두 훈련 문항에서 유지 효과도 나타났다. 둘째, 세 아동 모두 비훈련 단어와 문장에서 일반화 효과가 나타났다. 따라서 speech cues를 이용한 반복훈련을 통해 뇌성마비 아동의 자음정확도와 말명료도가 증가된 것을 알 수 있었으며, 임상에서 좀 더 쉽고 간편한 중재로 그 효용성이 있다는 것을 확인하였다.

• 말소리와 음성과학
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• 제7권1호
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• pp.47-55
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• 2015

This study examined whether speech acceptability was changed under various conditions of prosodic manipulations. Both speech rate and voice loudness reportedly are associated with acceptability and intelligibility. Speech samples by twelve speakers with mild dysarthria were recorded. Speech rate and loudness changes were made by digitally manipulating habitual sentences. 3 different loudness levels (70, 75, & 80dB) and 4 different speech rates (normal, 20% rapidly, 20% slowly, & 40% slowly) were presented to 12 SLPs (speech language pathologists). SLPs evaluated sentence acceptability by 7-point Likert scale. Repeated ANOVA were conducted to determine if the prosodic type of resynthesized cue resulted in a significant change in speech acceptability. A faster speech rate (20% rapidly) rather than habitual and slower rates (20%, 40% slowly) resulted in significant improvement in acceptability ratings (p <.001). An increased vocal loudness (up to 80dB) resulted in significant improvement in acceptability ratings (p <.05). Speech rate and loudness changes in the prosodic properties of speech may contribute to improved acceptability.

• 말소리와 음성과학
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.15-20
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• 2021

In line with recent attention to the multimodal expression of politeness, the present study examined the association between polite speech and acoustic features through the analysis of vowels produced in casual and polite speech contexts in Korean. Fourteen adult native speakers of Seoul Korean produced the utterances in two social conditions to elicit polite (professor) and casual (friend) speech. Vowel duration and the first (F1) and second formants (F2) of seven sentence- and phrase-initial monophthongs were measured. The results showed that polite speech shares acoustic similarities with vowel production in clear speech: speakers showed greater vowel space expansion in polite than casual speech in an effort to enhance perceptual intelligibility. Especially, female speakers hyperarticulated (front) vowels for polite speech, independent of speech rate. The implications for the acoustic encoding of social stance in polite speech are further discussed.

• Journal of Audiology & Otology
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• 제24권4호
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• pp.167-173
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• 2020

Background and Objectives: Top-down restoration of distorted speech, tapped as phonemic restoration of speech in noise, maybe a useful tool to understand robustness of perception in adverse listening situations. However, the relationship between phonemic restoration and speech perception in noise is not empirically clear. Subjects and Methods: 20 adults (40-55 years) with normal audiometric findings were part of the study. Sentence perception in noise performance was studied with various signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) to estimate the SNR with 50% score. Performance was also measured for sentences interrupted with silence and for those interrupted by speech noise at -10, -5, 0, and 5 dB SNRs. The performance score in the noise interruption condition was subtracted by quiet interruption condition to determine the phonemic restoration magnitude. Results: Fairly robust improvements in speech intelligibility was found when the sentences were interrupted with speech noise instead of silence. Improvement with increasing noise levels was non-monotonic and reached a maximum at -10 dB SNR. Significant correlation between speech perception in noise performance and phonemic restoration of sentences interrupted with -10 dB SNR speech noise was found. Conclusions: It is possible that perception of speech in noise is associated with top-down processing of speech, tapped as phonemic restoration of interrupted speech. More research with a larger sample size is indicated since the restoration is affected by the type of speech material and noise used, age, working memory, and linguistic proficiency, and has a large individual variability.

• 대한청각학회지
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• 제24권4호
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• pp.167-173
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• 2020

Background and Objectives: Top-down restoration of distorted speech, tapped as phonemic restoration of speech in noise, maybe a useful tool to understand robustness of perception in adverse listening situations. However, the relationship between phonemic restoration and speech perception in noise is not empirically clear. Subjects and Methods: 20 adults (40-55 years) with normal audiometric findings were part of the study. Sentence perception in noise performance was studied with various signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) to estimate the SNR with 50% score. Performance was also measured for sentences interrupted with silence and for those interrupted by speech noise at -10, -5, 0, and 5 dB SNRs. The performance score in the noise interruption condition was subtracted by quiet interruption condition to determine the phonemic restoration magnitude. Results: Fairly robust improvements in speech intelligibility was found when the sentences were interrupted with speech noise instead of silence. Improvement with increasing noise levels was non-monotonic and reached a maximum at -10 dB SNR. Significant correlation between speech perception in noise performance and phonemic restoration of sentences interrupted with -10 dB SNR speech noise was found. Conclusions: It is possible that perception of speech in noise is associated with top-down processing of speech, tapped as phonemic restoration of interrupted speech. More research with a larger sample size is indicated since the restoration is affected by the type of speech material and noise used, age, working memory, and linguistic proficiency, and has a large individual variability.